Pandemic
by SamKo
Summary: One sole Mew, she had always gotten her way, ever since she was young, getting what she wanted. Tables turned, ever searching for answers in life, she takes her revenge one life, one full moon at a time. She's alone in this world, or so she thought? MxK
1. The Full Moon

_Pandemic - occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population._

I know, I'm terrible. I just started Kichi Cat, but I yet again couldn't help myself. I just wanted to get the first chapter up to hear what yall think of it, so you better review! Don't hurt me over the pairings, they're not that important to the story anyway. I put them like that for a reason, so don't flame me, pleez?

Hope you like!

* * *

Sirens were blaring. People were running in all directions. Police, following citizens, trying to calm them down and give a warning to retreat to their homes as quickly as possible. Shops, restaurants, bars all closed up early. Every home became frantic as the full moon became visible in the crystal clear night. Mothers held tight to their children. Men stood guard, peering out the window, keeping an eye on the moon. Everyone staying ever alert for an attack…

An attack...-------------

"Mommy," the young innocent girl tugged on her mother's pant leg. She could always find comfort in her mother, "do we always have to do this? The moon's pretty, why do we act scared?"

The mother gave her daughter a loving look, beginning to stroke the girl's strawberry-blonde hair. "We're not scared of the moon, honey. It's when the moon shines its brightest we take caution."

"But Mommy," the girl whined curiously, "why?"

The woman lifted the girl up onto her knee, "Well, if you want, after we're clear, I'll tell you a story."

"Ooh!" the girl clapped her hands together in delight, "I love your stories, Mommy, especially about the Mews! Is this another Tokyo Mew Mew story!" she was getting excited.

"Good guess!" the mother said playfully, pushing her daughter's nose with her fingertip. She giggled, "But this story isn't like the others. This is different." Her young girl's sky blue eyes lit up with wonder.

Just then the father walked into the room. His piercing blue eyes told something was wrong. "Ichigo," he said to his wife, getting her attention, "the attack's over."

The woman's head slightly shifted to the side. She tried to smile in attempt to comfort her husband, "But," she could tell there was more, "Ryou, what is it? What's wrong?"

Tears were welling up in his eyes. He was trying his hardest not to cry in front of his daughter, giving his wife a look that said, 'not in front of her.' He exited the room.

The mother got up, setting the girl where she was just seated. "Now you sit tight," she told her, as if there were nothing of it, "Mommy needs to talk to Daddy."

Ichigo followed off behind her husband, finding him by the land phone in the kitchen. "Ryou," she asked again, "what is it?" She stared into his pain stricken eyes. There was only one other person she could think of, "No, who is it?" She changed the question, bringing a hand to her face.

Ryou started, "We got a call from the hospital…

The hospital...-----------------

"Hey, who are you?" the little girl asked, walking into her parent's room. "Who's who?" her mother asked, following her daughter. Once she got in the room she froze, "GET OUTTA HERE!" she yelled as loud as her lungs would take her voice, causing the figure over her husband to flee out the window.

"Oh my Lord," the woman said trembling coming over to her husband, "Wake-up," she gripped his shoulder, "you slept through that?"

The man's dark eyes opened. He sat up in his bed, "What's wrong? Why'd you wake me up?" he asked, rather drowsily.

That made his wife mad, "Why? How could you sleep through a Warning?" then she went into shock, realizing the situation at hand, "Get in the car," she commanded, grabbing the keys off a dresser headed outside.

Her husband sat there blankly, "What?" but that just upset his wife more, "Come on! I'm driving."

"Get in the car honey," she said to her daughter, "we're going to a ride."

The girl's sapphire eyes became cold with protest, but she obediently ran outside.-----------------

-----------The family of three were heavily speeding in the car down the streets of Tokyo, or at lest, the mother was. There wasn't another single car on the roads.

"Mommy," the little girl squeaked a very scared tone, "where are we going? Who was that lady in your room?"

The father's head turned sharply at his wife, "Zakuro, really, what's going on?"

The mother just zoomed past a yellow light, "You're the one who slept through the Warning, Keiichiro," she responded coldly.

"Honey," Zakuro said, looking into the rear view mirror at her daughter, "Daddy needs to go see someone."

"Wait," Keiichiro answered, "You mean…_she_…"

Zakuro nodded gravely, not taking her eyes off the road. Everyone was quiet for the rest of the ride.

"Daddy, why are we at the hospital?" his daughter asked him upon parking in the lot of the hospital.

He got out of the car and opened the door for her, "Don't worry, princess, we have to talk to someone," and he picked her up and carried her in.

Zakuro rushed to the counter of the emergency room. "Please," she pleaded the secretary, "_She_ came to our house just now. My husband Akasaka needs medical attention."

"Akasaka-san, are you positive _she_ actually kissed him?" the secretary asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zakuro's face got red with frustration at the secretary, "Does it matter!" she fumed, "_She_ was in our house! Is it wrong for me to take concern!"

"Akasaka-san," the secretary called, this time to Keiichiro, leaving her desk, "please come with me." She led him past two double doors.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" the little girl looked up at her mother's tear stricken face, "Where's Daddy?"

Zakuro sat down in the emergency room, lifting her worried daughter onto her lap, kissing the top of her head, "Don't worry about a thing." Her eye spotted crayons and coloring books at a table. Zakuro pointed to them, "Why don't you go color for awhile? I'll be right back…" she got up walking over to the desk again; the secretary was back.

"Excuse me," Zakuro said, more tears falling, "What's going on?"

"Your husband is going under examination right now, so I really can't tell you anything at the time being," the secretary said.

"Can," Zakuro tried not to choke on her tears, "can I use a phone?"

"Of course," the secretary said, picking up the phone at her desk and listening for a ring tone, "Here you go," she said, handing the receiver to Zakuro. The secretary pushed the body of the phone closer to her so she could dial…

The phone rang, "Shirogane residence," Good, it was Ryou.

"Ryou? It's Zakuro," she said, more tears falling just thinking about talking to him.

"Zakuro? Zakuro, what's wrong?"

"Ryou, come down here. To the hospital. _She_ came to our house. Keiichiro might…" but she didn't know how else to word the rest.

Ryou became gravely quiet, "We'll be right over. Goodbye." _Click_.

Zakuro returned to sit next to her daughter. She began to stroke her hair out of tension. "Mommy," she said, lifting a sheet for her mother to see, "Look, I drew Mew Zakuro! If anything's wrong, she'll come save the day!"

_Later…_

Ichigo, Ryou, and their daughter walked through the doors. Ichigo ran over to Zakuro, "Oh, Zakuro!" she hugged her.

Ichigo and Ryou's daughter ran towards Zakuro's daughter, "Nasubi-chan!" Nasubi called back out to her, "Isuzu-chan!"

Zakuro stood up, hoping Ichigo would take her request, "Ichigo, would you mind taking Nasubi for the night?"

Isuzu's eyes lit up, "Oh please, Mommy!" Ichigo looked at Ryou. He shrugged. "Sure," Ichigo answered warmly, "she can hear the story, too!"

"Ichigo, Ryou, thank you so much," Zakuro thanked them, "I'm going to stay here to wait for any news."

Ryou nodded, "Call us."

So the four loaded into the car. Ichigo turned around to talk to them, "So, you want to hear the story about the Lustrous Lorikeet?"

Both girls' eyes got wide, "That's her name?" Isuzu asked.

Ichigo nodded, "Yup, and she was a Mew."

Ryou sighed, "You're actually telling them? Are you sure you want to…?"

"They might as well find out sooner or later, Ryou," Ichigo said matter-of-factly, "Anyway, it was any other day at the café…"

* * *

So! What do you think? You all probably think I hate Keiichiro right now, huh? Don't worry, I won't let him die. Wait, you don't even know why he would die, now do you? Hmm, well I don't plan on keeping you in the dark too long, hehe. But here's a hint, what are we worried about right now that would be a pandemic? 

Next chapter starts Ichigo's story!

R&R!


	2. Dreams Come True

Incase you didn't know, Nasubi means eggplant. I thought it would be a cute idea. This chapter starts with Ichigo telling the story to Isuzu and Nasubi in the car. This chapter will continually switch between the story being told by the characters and the story being told by me. I'll indicate it with (narrator name)--------, but it will probably be pretty obvious who's talking.

Disclaimer: I.do.not.own.tokyo.mew.mew

Claimer: I DO own Nasubi and Isuzu!

* * *

Ichigo ------- It was any other day at Café Mew Mew, but things were going more smoothly because we had defeated Deep Blue. We all kept working at the Café incase something ever came up, but we were just glad to be together. 

Anyway, you know how ordinary days go. I'm working my butt off, Lettuce is breaking something, Pudding pulling off tricks, Zakuro's scaring customers, Mint's drinking tea. But that day, Mint was being particularly crabby, probably because she was sick.

"Oh, Ichigo," Mint called for me, "could you bring me another tissue?" I sighed reluctantly. She should just go home, it's not like she works while she's here, anyway. I brought her the whole box, "Here."

"I looked down. Lettuce brought her a garbage can because of all of the tissues she was using. The can was almost full.

"Mint, why don't you go home if you're not feeling well?" I asked her. The rest of us don't need to get sick, too, and she just gave us more work to do.

Mint's eyes got big, "No! I mean, I f_eel_ fine, really, I do, it's just this blasted nose of mine!" she blew so hard into another Kleenex I winced at it.

"Fine," I said, heading off to serve more costumers. Typical Mint, always so stubborn.

-------- "Ichigo," Ryou stopped her, pulling into their home, "I'm going to check any messages on the phone, and if you don't mind, I'd like to continue the story."

"Well, sure," she hesitated, getting out of the car. They all headed out into the house, Ryou going into the kitchen where the phone was. He pressed play; there was one message.

"Ryou-san?" the voice sounded in panic, "Ryou-san, it's Pudding. Tart and I were just walking about town after the attack was confirmed over, when Tart became a victim right them and there!" he voice turned to sobs, "Please look at him, Ryou-san, a doctor wouldn't understand!"

Ryou checked the caller ID for the number Pudding used and re-dialed it. At that, Ichigo walked into the kitchen, "What's taking you so long--" but Ryou put a hand up for her to be quiet. Ichigo crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

"Hello?"

"Pudding? It's Ryou. Come on over."

"Oh, thank-you so much! We're on our way now!"

"Pudding?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryou hung up the phone. Before he could answer her, it rang. The caller ID said it was from the hospital again. He answered.

"Shirogane residence," he said.

"Ryou? It's me, Keiichiro."

"Keiichiro! How are you feeling?"

"Just fine, and the tests indicated I'm healthy, but I'm going to stay here tomorrow to be safe."

"Keiichiro, you're probably fine. Besides, _she_ attacked again."

"What? Who?"

"Tart. Pudding asked if they could come over and I accepted saying I'd do what I could. Because who knows what a doctor would think if he saw him."

"You're a good man, Ryou. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good-night."

"You could've told me Pudding and Tart were coming earlier! Now I have to get the guest's room ready," Ichigo scowled at her husband.

"That's fine," Ryou shrugged, heading over for the girls, "since I'm continuing the story right now anyway."

Ryou ------- I was busy in the basement doing research on the DNA I had used on the girls, when Keiichiro came in.

"Ryou, Mint's used up two tissue boxes, and she's on her third right now," he said, rather surprised.

"Does she have any other symptoms?" I asked him. This was getting bad. I hoped it wouldn't last long.

"Not at the time being," he stated, "and she claims to be feeling fine. I checked her forehead, and no fever. She insists on staying at the café."

"Well," I tried, "if she really does feel fine, that's a good thing, I guess…" I read over the symptoms again on the computer. We both knew she had it, but we didn't know when it would arise in her genes. If this was it… we'd have to take action. Soon.

--------- There was a knock at the door. Ichigo came running down the stairs to answer it, only to see Ryou already opening the door. There stood Pudding, Tart in her arms. She had grown to be quite the strength of the two.

"Pudding," Ryou said quietly, "How is he?" he took Tart from her arms. For being a teenage boy, he sure was light.

Pudding never looked more serious, "I'm not sure. We were walking…we, I can't remember the street name…" her forehead wrinkled up in thought, "the same street Nasubi-chan lives on, and _she_ appeared out of no where! _She_ kissed Tart, and disappeared! I picked him up and told him to sleep, then I called you."

"I'll take him downstairs. I still have some equipment from the Mew Project," Ryou said, on his way.

"Wait," Ichigo called for him, "where'd you leave off?"

"Hm?" Ryou paused, "the story? Don't worry about it; just continue on where you left off before in the car."

Ichigo looked confused, "Fine. Oh, Pudding, I'm telling them the story of the _Lustrous Lorikeet_. Fill me in if I miss anything, okay?"

Ichigo ------ So the next day was another typical day. Only today, Mint was back to her normal self, that is, if you can say she's normal. No more runny nose. But she had to talk to me after work.

"Ichigo, I had the weirdest dream last night!" I looked at her kind of strangely. The last time she had a 'weird dream,' it was scary…for her. Her last dream had something to do with all the tea in the world disappearing except this really nasty lemon kind and…I'm getting really off track.

So I told her, "Look Mint, if it's about tea, I…"

She cut me off, her face getting red, "No! Ichigo, it was about birds," her face changed to a scared expression. She had a dream about birds before as well.

"Um," I thought, "maybe you should tell Shirogane instead of me, I'll go get him," and I started to leave to get him, but Mint grabbed my shoulder.

"Ichigo, please, let me tell you first," her azure eyes pleaded me to sit back down. The pressure got to me; I sat down. "Thank-you. Now here's what happened.

"I was outside. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and I was shopping at the farmer's market downtown to pick up my favorite tea. Pretty soon I heard sirens coming from all directions. I looked around and spotted a woman trying to sell her chickens. Before I knew it feathers were everywhere, the chickens trying to escape. One did, and it started attacking the woman.

"Several men in uniforms came with big catching nets and cages. I couldn't help but think why, but I looked around once more. There were birds everywhere. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, swans, all running around in one direction or the other. None were trying to fly. It took me a moment to realize what was going on. It came as a shock. For the birds that weren't already dead, they were killing them and taking them away. It came as an instinct for me to run away, and I did."

That _was_ a scary dream, I had to admit. Since it had all the birds in it, maybe it would be a good idea for her to tell it to Ryou, "Mint, you should tell Shirogane."

Her face showed she was nervous to. "You think?" she looked around. "I will tomorrow. And Ichigo," the said, just about to leave, "thanks for listening to me."

I smiled, "any time, Mint."

Once again, the next day was ever normal. But not quite. Mint had the worst cough. It was terrible. If she tried to laugh, it would just turn out to be an even worse cough. Half-way through the day, she had it. "Ichigo, I'm going to go tell Ryou about my dream from the other night."

-------- Ryou walked back up the stairs, Tart up and awake following him. "TAR-TAR!" Pudding cried. She still had a lot of child in her. She ran and glomped Tart.

Ryou looked at them rather oddly. "He seems fine to me," he rose an eyebrow, "I don't get it. You sure _she_ kissed him? I want him to stay here for a few days just to be safe…"

"Ryou," Ichigo said to him, "You have to continue the story now. Mint came to tell you about her dream."

"Alright then."

Ryou -------- It was coincidental, yet perfect timing. I was going to tell Mint about the data I'd found, and she came to me. "Ryou, I need to talk to you," she said, looking away. She seemed nervous.

"Coincidence," I said, "I have to talk to you, too. You go first."

"Well, about this dream I had the other night…"

I was stunned. I didn't know what to tell her at first. Well, I did, but I didn't know how I should word it to her. "Mint, I…"

Mint's face seemed unsure of what to think of the dream, other than that it freaked her out pretty well. "Ryou," she said, her voice became very quiet, "you what?"

"I need to tell you something very important. Whether this is related to your dream or not, I'm not sure, but it sure seems like it," I trailed off, wondering if I was doing the right thing to tell her or not. Oh, wonderful, Keiichiro just walked in, too.

"Mint-san," Keiichiro said calmly, his ever smiling presence simply lighting up the room. This, however, didn't change Mint's facial expression. "Akasaka-san…what's going on?"

"Mint-san, when we injected you with the DNA of the Blue Lorikeet, we didn't know that our sample contained something else in it. We've recently been doing research on your DNA ever since your cold came up," Keiichiro started to explain, but his face told me he didn't want to keep explaining. I did the honors. Yeah, the honors of being hated for the rest of my life.

"Mint, the DNA we injected contained traces of the virus known as avian flu. You might know it to be the bird flu, hence, the dream you had," I said, turning my head away.

"Okay…is that all? I have a cold, it'll go away, right?" she tried to get her hopes up.

"Well, it won't go away. Sure, your symptoms will, but the virus was embedded in the DNA, and we didn't know it when we made the injection. You're contagious, only by saliva, say if you kiss someone, and that person would become fatally ill," I didn't want to keep talking. I wanted to shut up. But this was our fault, she had the right to know one way or the other, "but since it's part of you, you'll stay alive."

Okay, maybe too much information for her. That, or she didn't know what to think of it. "So I'm a Mew. Yeah, I've always understood that much. But now you're telling me the DNA was irregular? You made an irreversible mistake? The DNA keeps me alive? I'd rather die!" her tears crashed to the ground, her feet pounding the floor, she running out of the café. It wasn't the last time we saw her, though.

"Mint! What's wrong! Where are you going?" Ichigo screamed, half-scared. She chased after her best-friend.

* * *

Wow, this is probably, like, the longest chapter I've ever typed…possibly? It may not seem that long to you, though…oh well. Tell me what you think! I might land up finishing this story before I finish Kichi Cat, only cuz on that story I've got writer's block. The second chapter's written out; I just have to type it! 

Ichigo and Ryou haven't finished telling the story, yet. Next chapter will help explain things a little more, like the pairings and the attacks.

R&R!


	3. Even Nightmares

Woot, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I don't know what will get finished first, this or Kichi Cat, but I'm trying my hardest. It seemed I updated more when I was still in school...

Just a reminder: The author is Sammi. I do all the Tokyo Mew Mew stories. I don't Kody would touch one of the manga. He'd rather read DeathNote.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, just some manga. I do own Isuzu and Nasubi (eggplant power!)

* * *

"So Mint ran away?" Isuzu asked, starting to become curious of how this was related to the Lustrous Lorikeet.

Ichigo shook her head, "Not quite."

---------"Mint, wait up!" I called to her. She could run pretty fast; it must have been all that dancing. "Mint, please! I need to talk to you!" She must have heard me, because she stopped and turned around to look at me. I looked around, wow, we had gone quite a ways. Mint was atop a bridge, about to crossover to the side of the city where she lived. "Mint," I gasped, out of breath, "what's wrong?" I caught up to her. We stood looking over at the stream, seemed we'd be there awhile.

"Ichigo," Mint's eyes were sorrowful, her face red from crying, "Ryou and Akasaka-san made a mistake…" Another tear slid down her face, causing what little reaction it did to the stream below us. "Remember my dream? Those birds…they had bird flu," she was choking. I put my arm around her back to try to help her calm down. "I have bird flu, too," the tears were streaming, now, "you won't get it, it's only passed by saliva, but…_I'll never die_."

That part confused me, "Wait…bird flu is a fatal disease. If you gave it to someone, they would die instantly, but why should you complain?" I didn't think it was a big deal.

"Ichigo!" came a voice. We both looked around to see where it came from, "There," Mint pointed, "That's why I complain." She was pointing to Masaya. I still didn't understand what she meant or why she was so upset

"Ichigo, I've been looking for you," Masaya said, coming up to us.

---------"Ichigo," Ryou said, pointing to the clock, "We can finish this up in the morning. Let's get these rascals into bed, hm?" He lifted Isuzu over his shoulder and spun around. "Daddy!" Isuzu cried. Nasubi giggled.

"Now come on," Ichigo motioned, "Upstairs."

"Night Mommy! Night Daddy!" Isuzu yelled, running up the stairs. Nasubi stayed behind. "Thank-you Mr. and Mrs. Shirogane for letting me stay the night." Then she ran off after Isuzu, "Izu-chan, wait!"

Pudding giggled, "They're so cute. I can't wait to have kids of my own someday!" she nudged Tart. He only looked annoyed.

Ryou sat down, putting his head back, and closing his eyes, "Pudding, you have plenty of time to think about kids," he rolled his head to look over at Ichigo, "We could've waited longer, I think."

Ichigo looked upset, "What're you trying to say?" Pudding giggled again.

"I want to bicker with my husband, too," Pudding giggled, "It's so cute. You two have been fighting ever since you first met, and look what happened, you got married!" she just couldn't quit laughing.

Ryou tried to smile at Ichigo, but she only continued to look upset. He sighed, then chuckled a bit, thinking about what Pudding said. He turned to look at Tart, "You have any symptoms?"

Tart shook his head, "Nope. Well actually, I don't know, I'm not familiar," he scratched his head in thought, "I don't think I'm familiar with a 'cold.'"

"Maybe he can't get sick? Ryou, you should know," Ichigo said, looking at Tart very strangely. "If it's true, that's not fair." Tart stuck his tongue out at Ichigo.

"But," Tart said, reaching in his pocket, "I do have this." He pulled out a blue feather and held it up for them to see. "So she did kiss me, so we have proof."

"Ow! What was that for?" Tart cried, as Ryou pulled a hair from his head. "It's for testing, that's what," he said coolly. Even after ten years, he was the same Ryou, "and if you want me to make sure you won't die, you'll go along with it."

Tart gulped. Pudding's eyes bugged out. She quickly grabbed Tart's hand. Ichigo couldn't help giggle at her sudden reaction.

The next morning in Isuzu's room...

Ichigo-------Where were we? We had spotted Masaya, and he had been looking for me. -------Ryou left the room, "Ichigo, I'm making coffee, you?" "Please," but she knew that was his excuse for getting out of hearing the next part of the story.

--------Anyway, the thought of Masaya looking for me made me happy, so I greeted him warmly, "Hi, Aoyama-kun…" but Mint grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him so he would face her.

"You might as well hate me for this, since you'll never see me again, or anyone for that matter," Mint said, hot steaming tears sliding down her already red cheeks. Masaya only looked confused, but he had no idea of what was coming next. Mint quickly pressed her lips to his, keeping a firm grip on his shoulders.

And however this may be shocking to me, what made me mad was that Masaya didn't pull away. No, he brought his arms around Mint's waist. Then it hit me: 'it's only passed through saliva.'

Mint broke away. She threw Masaya's hands off of her. "Have a nice life," she said, yet smiling, and she rand away never to be seen again.

Masaya picked something off of the ground, a blue feather. Then he looked at me, "What was that all about?" he asked, as though he knew nothing.

That jerk! And he was going to die because of it. I didn't answer him. No, I couldn't answer him. I ran away from him, crying, on my way to the Café, wanting some answers.

* * *

And that's why Masaya's not in the picture. The Lustrous Lorikeet killed him with her fateful kiss (readers add it to their 'ways to kill off Masaya' lists) But you can guess Ichigo was probably freaking out at that point. What will the other Mews have to say? Why do I always ask questions at the end of chapters?

I know that this is a confusing story, but it's supposed to be that way. If you have questions, go ahead and ask me, but I won't answer if it's something I plan on answering in a later chapter.

So what'd ya think? Tell me in a review!


	4. Mail Call

Huzzah! It's no longer on hold! I'm finally updating! Hoorah! I've upped the rating for minorities like character deaths and blood and things like that. But I'm glad people are still reading this and leaving reviews! It makes me so happy!

Just as a forewarner, this chapter has a lot of one-liners AKA paragraphs made up of only one line. It's mostly because of sounds and such.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Isuzu and Nasubi, and all the blue feathers scattered everywhere throughout the story.

* * *

"So wait," Nasubi said, her forehead wrinkled up in thought, "you liked Masaya? What about Isuzu's dad?"

Ryou sighed, hearing the question he knew would come. He was on his way back to Izusu's bedroom, bringing two cups of coffee with him.

"Ooh, coffee!" Pudding cooed, getting up to follow Ryou after smelling the coffee.

"No way," Ryou scolded, bringing an arm up in defense, "You need no such thing."

Isuzu made a face as her father walked in, "Bleh, how can you guys drink that stuff? At least Mommy's tasted like strawberries." She looked over at Pudding, "Where's Uncle Taruto?"

Pudding couldn't help giggle every time she called him that. Even though they weren't related, the girls always called them 'aunt' and 'uncle.' "He's still sleeping, but we know he needs the rest. It's the least we can let him do to make sure he's healthy."

The phone rang. Ryou got up. "Speaking of health," he said, putting down his mug of coffee, "I bet that's your dad calling, Nasubi." Nasubi looked up at him, simply smiling.

Pudding couldn't help but smile, too, because there was now an unattended cup of coffee sitting before her, and she swore it was calling her name. Giving in to temptation, she grabbed Ryou's mug and swiftly gulped it all down, the last drop being too conceivably small to worry about, but waiting for it to slide down anyway, she returned the mug to it's previous location. The only difference from before was that it was now empty, rather when it was half full, had Ryou only taken it with him as he departed his daughter's room. (Okay, a totally pointless paragraph, but I couldn't help myself).

Isuzu just stared at Pudding, followed by scrunching up her nose in disgust, "You like it, too, Aunt Purin? Yuck…"

"Moshi Moshi," Ryou answered, picking up the phone.

"Good news Ryou." It was Keiichiro, "I'm going home today. No signs of bird flu."

Ryou gave a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness for that. And same goes for Tart. He has no signs, period. I'm thinking that maybe he…"

"Can't receive the virus? Same would go for the rest of the aliens…"

'_Beep.Beep.Beep.'_ "Keiichiro, I'll call your cell later, someone's on the other line, okay?"

"Well actually, Zakuro and I'll come over in an hour or so, to pick up Nasubi, so expect to see us then."

"Goodbye then."

'_Click.'_

"Shirogane residence."

"…"

"Hello? Anyone there?"

"…"

Ryou knew there was someone there, because he heard the sound of someone breathing. He tried communicating again, "Hello-" but he was cut off by the hang-up of the receiver. Ryou reached to put the phone back.

'_Click.'_

'_Bring Bring.'_

The sound of the phone's sudden ringing startled Ryou. The Caller I.D. read 'Tsuba Tasuko.' _'Tsuba Tasuko,'_ Ryou strained to remember the last time he heard the name. _'A little over a month ago…on the news,'_ then the shock hit him…Tsuba Tasuko was dead, and had been for over a month…he died of bird flu.

'_Bring Bring.'_

"Ryou, you going to answer it?" Ichigo called from upstairs.

He answered the phone without responding back to his wife. _'Click.'_

"Shirogane residence," Ryou answered cautiously. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to a dead guy, _'over the phone.'_

More breathing. But the pattern didn't seem calm. The breathes taken were irregular, like rushed gasps for air. As the exhales became softer, Ryou became more panicked.

"Are you okay?" Ryou finally asked the stranger.

"_Pandemic…"_

"Hmm?"

"_Do you believe in…the Pandemic?"_

"Do I believe?" Ryou shook his head of thought, "who is this?" The heavy breathing started up again.

"_Pandemic…"_

Ryou raised his voice at the stranger, "Who are you!"

The stranger said it louder, enough that Ryou could almost make out who it was, "I told you…"

"Excuse me!" he knew the stranger was female now, or so the voice sounded.

"_Pandemic…"_

"Pande-"

"_Mail call."_

'_Click.'_ Ryou was left with an empty dial tone once more.

'_Ding Dong.'_ Ryou glanced at the clock. 9:38 a.m. 'The mail always comes around this time…'

Once again, Ichigo rushed downstairs, only to find Ryou already outside, getting the mail.

Ichigo scowled, but once Ryou re-entered and she saw his face, she grew quiet. He held one sole envelope, wit nothing on it. It was sealed, but no indication of where it came from, or where it was supposed to go. Ryou just stood in the doorway of their home, holding the blank, white envelope at the sides, with both hands.

"Well," Ichigo said awkwardly, not understanding what her husband's problem was, "aren't you going to open it?"

"Maybe…" Ryou said, not letting any emotion through. The last thing he wanted was Ichigo to freak out over a letter. _'How did that woman know about the mail? How did this letter get here if there's nothing on it? There must be a connection, no doubt…'_ And then there was the obvious fact that Tsuba Tasuko was dead. Ryou slipped a finger under the envelope's lip, and slowly tore it across the top. Ryou pulled out a small note, and at the same time, a blue feather fell out of the envelope, slowly drifting to the ground.

Now was Ichigo's turn to panic. "Ryou," she said quietly, she almost couldn't hear herself, "Who is it from?" Not getting a response, she walked over to him to read the hand-written note.

_Shirogane Ryou_

_Your kindness, it makes me sick to my stomach. How dare you interfere with my plans. It's because of you in the first place anyway, so why do you get involved? So the next full moon, don't run, don't hide, for your fate is in my kiss. I bid thee an unpleasant farewell._

_Lustrous Lorikeet, though I know you know me better than that name._

Ichigo clenched Ryou's upper sleeve with both hands, about to rip his shirt. "No…" she fumbled for words, not just to comfort herself, to comfort Ryou, "No, she…won't. I won't…let her….I…"

"Since when did she leave call-cards?" Ryou tried to say with a normal tone, but he failed in that task. Once the scent of mints hit his nose, he dropped the letter. It slowly drooped to the floor, just like the feather before it, landing respectively next to its companion. "It smells like, like, like…mi-"

Ichigo let go of Ryou, and rushed to the door. "Maybe the mail-carrier is still on our block, on our street, even. Maybe this was a prank pulled by one of the neighbors." She opened the front door of their house. "Maybe it was jus-" Ichigo became deathly silent.

"Ichigo, what's the matte-"

Their silence, you ask? Just outside their home, lying over the hood of the mail-carrier's car, the neighborhood's mail-carrier, dead, with a blue feather tightly clasped in his hand, which dangled at his side.

--------------

A woman walked down the street, dressed in a brown all-cover-coat, while holding a cell-phone to her head. She wasn't talking, she only held it to her hear. She would occasionally mutter something, but it was unclear of just what she was saying. Upon seeing the mail-man, she put her cell-phone away, and walked up to him.

"Hey there, cutie," the woman flirted, removing her hood, revealing a head of blue hair, coming down to her mid upper arms.

"Oh, hey there, cutie yourself!" the man greeted back. "Looks like there's no mail for the Shirogane's today…"

"Oh," the woman quickly retorted, pulling out a blank, sealed envelope, "Here you go. It's for them. I'd deliver it myself, but it has to be a surprise, if you know what I mean."

The mail-man took the letter and examined it. "I'd like to, but I can't. You see, there's no postage on this letter, and,"

The woman cut him off, "Please? It's really quite important. I need it delivered right now. Tell you what," she wanted to bribe him. 'Good, no ring, so he's single,' "I'll give you a smooch if you do it."

"Well," the mail-carrier smiled, "Sure, why not." He walked up to the steps of the Shirogane household, opening the mail-box, slipping the letter in, closing it, following by traditionally ringing the doorbell, and he walked back to his car, and got into the driver's seat.

"Wait," the woman called for him, going to his open window, "I can't let you leave unpaid. Here's my kiss, as promised." And the woman bent over, and pressed her lips to his.

"Gee, thanks!" the man said smiling. "So, can I have your number?"

The woman just chuckled. "You're eager, aren't you? Here, something better for you to remember me by," and she placed a blue feather in his hand. "I doubt we'll see each other any time soon. Besides, it would never work between us anyway."

The man stared at the feather with confusion, "Wha, but this is just like-" the mail-man looked up. She was gone, out of site. _'This is odd, doesn't the Lustrous Lorikeet leave feathers like this?'_ he pondered. Shrugging it off, he began to start the engine of his car.

Just as the engine roared, so did he. Gagging, that is. Whatever was trying to come up, he was holding him back. Ever-tightly gripping the feather, he fell over the steering wheel, the blood never quite making it's way out of his mouth, he eventually fell silent.

_Ryou was next.

* * *

_

Yes I know, this chapter was quite graphic…and dark, for that matter. I suppose this is quite the darker story, non? I enjoyed writing it, though. I hope you enjoyed reading it. We need more Tokyo Mew Mew mysteries, nya!


	5. Today Was

I guess I have to point this out--Ryou won't die. I love him too much to let him die -hugs Ryou plushie-

This chapter isn't very graphic (well it sort of), it's more so sad than scary. The last chapter was just to get an idea of how quickly Mint's victims fall, but I did it to a complete stranger, instead of putting that kind of image with say, Masaya. (Or should I have? I dunno).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew, just Nasubi, Isuzu, and an endless supply of blue feathers.

* * *

"TAR-TAR!"

Ichigo let out a nervous giggle, "So much for letting him sleep." She and Ryou were still standing in their home's front room. Just minutes before, they had shut the front door, and Ryou had called an ambulance to come pick up the mail-carrier. Other than that, the two had pretty much remained silent. Ichigo bent over, picking up the letter and feather. She took their previous envelope and carefully slid them back in. "I'll put this somewhere Isuzu won't get into it. We've got a month, so that gives us plenty of time to get this thought over."

'_Ding Dong.'_

Ryou slowly turned the knob, not entirely sure of who to expect.

"Good morning, Ryou," Zakuro and Keiichiro answered.

"Nasubi!" Ryou called for her, apparently still upstairs with Isuzu, "your parents are here!"

Ryou motioned for Zakuro and Keiichiro, closing the door behind them. "I think it'll be awhile before those two come down, but I think it's best to let them be. Would you like some tea?" He started to walk for the kitchen.

"Yes, tea would be nice, but Ryou," Zakuro said, causing Ryou to stop and turn around, "is everything okay with Tart?"

"Tart seems to be fine," Ryou answered, getting Keiichiro and Zakuro to proceed to following him into the kitchen, "he's upstairs with Pudding. He has no symptoms…"

"I just wondered," Zakuro continued coldly, as they walked into the kitchen, "because on our way here, an ambulance was just leaving this street…"

An awkward silence settled among the three until they got into the kitchen. "Ah, Ichigo-san," Keiichiro said jokingly, reaching for her hand. Zakuro and Ryou both glared, but it was an ongoing joke Keiichiro made because it bothered them so much, nothing more. He began to lift her hand to his face, but stopped as he brought it within centimeters. He inhaled through his nose. "Ichigo," he muttered, taking another inhale, "why does your hand smell like mint?"

--------------

Mint had just gotten home. 'What have I done!' she panicked, keeping her back to her home's closed door, as if she was protecting herself from something. She brought a hand to her ever-crying face. _'I just killed Ichigo's Aoyama…No! Because then that would make me a-a-a,'_ she tried to rid her head of the thought that she was a murderer. She tried to get in the fact that technically, she wasn't the murderer. No, it wasn't her fault. It was Ryou's. Ryou was the reason for this, and that's who she would blame.

"Oh, Mickey," she said, her dog running to her, wanting to give support to his master. Mint fell to the ground, caressing her puppy. "Mickey, you'll never judge me for anything. You'll always love me, no matter what. Mickey, I love you so much…Hey, what's this?" she asked him. In his mouth was a sealed letter addressed to her. Taking it from him, she carefully opened it.

Mint fell silent. She didn't feel like crying anymore, but it was hard for her not to. With a struggled gasp, the letter fell to the floor. "They-they're…dead," slipped her lips. "I guess…it only figures…I've been this way…the whole time that I've been a Mew…" Falling to the ground, she embraced Mickey with all her might.

Not to her knowing, two yellow eyes had been viewing her pain.

-----------

An aging Mickey rushed over to his long time owner, leaping into her arms. Mint loved Mickey so much – he was the only one she had, but he was old and in pain, though he had lived things out for this long, the poor dog wouldn't last much longer.

_Today was the day._

Mint held Mickey tight to her chest. "Mickey, I," she wanted to sound reassuring, to sound loving, "I love you so much." Mickey gave a weak attempt to lick her face, only resulting in Mint trying to hold back tears. "Come on, Mickey, let's go for a ride," she said reopening the door, carrying Mickey out to her car.

The whole ride, Mickey sat on Mint's lap. The whole ride, Mint had only one hand on the steering wheel, the other softly caressing Mickey. She wished she could just keep on driving like this forever. Mint glanced at her car's clock, 9:58 a.m.; she was going to be right on time.

_Today was their last ride._

Parking in the lot, still holding Mickey, Mint carried him into their destination. Walking up to a secretary's desk, she was kindly greeted by a woman who recognized Mint Aizawa, someone who visited regularly with her dog, Mickey.

_Todaywas their last visit._

The woman led Mint and Mickey behind a door, where she was further greeted by a man in a white lab coat. The man nodded upon seeing her, the secretary leaving them.

"Mint Aizawa. And this must be Mickey," the man said, reaching to take him from her arms. Mint accepted, yet flinched at the man's actions, as though they were painful for her. He started to walk into another room, giving a questionable look toward her.

Mint quickly shook her head, holding back strained tears. "I…can't…" she forced out, grabbing the sides of her skirt into clumps, as if it were for support. She would need all of the support that she could get, even though she knew she wouldn't get any anytime soon.

The man nodded in understanding, taking Mickey into another room, and shutting the door behind him. The tears on Mint's face started gradually as she heard Mickey's whining, but she couldn't control them when the whining came to a halt. Without further speaking to the man, or even watching for him, she bolted out of the building, heavy sobs accompanying her.

_Today was the first time she had cried since she found out her parents were dead._

'_Ryou, you're going to pay for all of the pain you've caused me…'_

Little did she know, that all of that could change, for two yellow eyes had been watching her all this time, for so long, he couldn't continue to watch her suffer for much longer, he had to do something…

* * *

Very sad. I almost thought I was going to cry just writing it. The last time I cried from fanfiction was reading Purin Fon was Here by Applecake. I had to stick some Mint sap in here, seems people are worrying about Ryou, yaknow? Okay, I'll stop typing and give you a turn, to review! 


	6. There Was No One

Okay, some explaining: The previous chapter, the first part was Mint after she kissed Masaya. The second part was the present time of our story.

Sorry if this chapter makes Pai seem OOC, let alone Lettuce. So yes, I finally did bring in the remaining characters to this story. But everyone plays a key role, and this chapter explains why, or at least, I hope it does XD.

Disclaimer - I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Isuzu and Nasubi, and their totally cute flower girl dresses!

* * *

She was all alone in this world. There was no one who would understand her pain, no one to share or help bare her distress, no one for her to turn to. Occasionally looking back, she almost couldn't believe that when she was young, she had always gotten her way. Then she would laugh at herself, finding it funny that her life was almost completely the opposite of what it had been.

It was a curse, alright. A curse, alright. A curse that left her alive, left her damned among others. Suicide was none the less a joke to her now. Like anyone else, she started with cutting. Forever cursed to be a Mew, her self-produced wounds never bled, and she quickly recovered. Pills, drugs, medicines never worked, even overdoses of them. Her body just seemed to ignore their damaging powers. At age 17, she attempted jumping off of Tokyo Tower, though she should've known that wouldn't work. As she descended at an accelerating speed, a blue light emerged from her body, she becoming a Mew, her wings forcing her to land safely.

Though it wasn't clear to her knowledge, apparently fate had other plans for her. Maybe she couldn't see fate's plannings because she kept pushing it away during the full moon.

So if she couldn't die, she had might as well make others go down in her place, so many others that it became tradition in her mind.

But there's been one thing. One passion, one desire, that's kept her going this long. Maybe it wasn't her curse, maybe it was the burning heat pushing her along in her heart, the one and only thing she had realized that she wanted in this life, and knew that she would never, never get.

_All she ever, really wanted, was to be loved._

_And now there was no one._

-----------------

He was all alone in the foreign, yet ever familiar planet. There wasn't anyone who would note him kindly, or for that matter, look at him without fearing him. Remembering ten years back, he could see going back to his home planet, or rather, what was left of his home planet. But no, they were too late, it had been destroyed.

So he was stranded, on Earth, because he had no knowledge of any other planet that hosted intelligent lifeforms. He also had no knowledge that destiny had other plans for him.

But there's one thing. One passion, one desire, that's kept him on Earth so long. Maybe it wasn't the fact that his home planet no longer existed. Maybe it was the willpower to show his long gone "companions," that they were wrong about him, that he would one day find a place where he could rest and be welcome.

_All he ever really wanted was to be loved._

_And now there was no one._

-----------------

"Pai, are Tart and Pudding enjoying each other's company?" Lettuce decided to ask her fionce, prior to their wedding day. Pudding was to be Lettuce's bridesmaid, and Tart was going to be Pai's best man.

Pai chuckled, "I'm very certain of it." Oh, Tart. Pai was thankful that he had kept his head and made the smart decision to stay with Pudding. He softly chuckled again, to himself this time, thinking back on some of the choices he'd made. Unlike...

"Pai," Lettuce couldn't help but wonder, inturrupting his thoughts, "what about Kish? Why didn't you ask Kish to be your best man?" She looked up at him questioningly, confusion embed in her furrowed brow.

His lips tightened to an upset straight line. He didn't want to answer her. His answer was either, "Because I don't know Kish anymore," or, "Because he's gone," but he couldn't bring himself to say either, since they both were only half true. Pai nor Tart had heard from Kish in ten years.

"Lettuce," he sighed, bringing up a hand to softly stroke his lover's hair, "I'm surprised you even remember who he is."

Lettuce looked taken aback by hi strange response. He obviously didn't want to talk about Kish. "Er," he tried to change the subject, "who are you expecting to come tomorrow?"

He made the right move, because once he asked her, her eyes lit up. "We-ell," she started cutely, bringing a finger to her chin in thought, "Ichigo, Ryou, their daughter Isuzu, Keiichiro, Zakuro, their daughter Nasubi, and Pudding and Tart, of course! But…" her voice slowly trailed off.

It was Pai's turn to look confused. "but what?" he asked. He wanted everything to be perfect the following day, and the last thing he wanted was something to trouble Lettuce's mind. "You can tell me."

Lettuce's eyes clouded with memories. Horrifying memories of Masaya, the Lustrous Lorikeet's first ever victim. Recent memories of news stories during the night of the full moon—and it was always the story of the recent attack. "Mint…" quietly escaped her lips, "is the only one who won't be there, well, and Kish. But no one's personally heard from Mint in ten years, and for ten years, Japan has known her as the Lustrous Lorikeet, and only is seen before her victim at the full moon, leaving a blue feather behind."

She looked into his eyes. For the first time in ten years, they were painful, the last time being when he brought the news of his home planet. He must have been thinking about Mint and Kish, and their _ten years of disappearance_. He brought his head down, bringing his face close to her ear. "I don't want anything to ruin our day tomorrow, it'll be absolutely perfect.

--------------

Ichigo clasped her hands together in delight. "They're adorable!" she exclaimed. Zakuro nodded in agreement. Their daughters were dressed up in frilly, puffy dressed – Isuzu's being light shades of pink and yellow, Nasubi's lavender with traces of tan.

"I'm sure Lettuce will be please with her flower girls," Zakuro commented as the four exited the shop they purchased the dresses at.

--------------

_Maybe I won't wait for the full moon…maybe I'll strike tomorrow…I know who'll be there…_

--------------

_Pai thinks I don't care…hmph, this'll show him…_

_

* * *

_

Thought I'd get this bit of info out of the way for future chapters: The main pairing of this story is just a whim. I can't say I really support any pairing for Mint at all. Of the votes I did get, this is MintxKish. But I do promise it to be the best of my ability; I'm really putting my all into this story, since I'm really enjoying writing this!


	7. She was flying

Teehee, I'm so evil. I'm pulling this story out more, and found another complication to draw it out further. Afterall, it would be very OOC if it ended here.

There aren't any regular line blockers today, it kept saying 'Error on page,' when I tried to use them, so it's just a bunch of --- between the story and author notes.

Anyway, after I finish this, (but that won't be too soon), I'll continue on with another mystery, this time about Keiichiro. I've written out the prologue for it, and would be more than happy to PM it to anyone interested. Just let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Isuzu, Nasubi, and two nifty cloaks.

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"Two o'clock, it's show time," Lettuce muttered under her breath, looking down at her marvelous white with faded green lining dress. The doors opened, she stepped forward, the church organist bean to play. Nasubi and Isuzu lead Lettuce down the isle, Nasubi carefully dropping flowers, Isuzu tossing them around in every which way. Tart and Pudding patiently stood up front, along with Pai. You'd think that after dating Lettuce for eight long years, he'd be able to stay calm, but indeed, his cheeks were tinted with an infuriating pink.

It was a rather large chapel, so guests could come in unnoticed, though they probably wouldn't bother staying at an alien's wedding, or how the Americans convinced themselves, "intense Startrek fan."

The wedding proceeded, vows were made, tears were shed, (or at least, Ichigo cried), and the groom kissed the bride.

Applause came from the small group of guests, yet their clapping filled the whole chapel. Lettuce and Pai's faces were beaming with happiness as they made their way back up the aisle. Facing in the other direction, two on-lookers caught Lettuce's attention. To the far left corner stood a man, fully dressed in a cloak coming over his head, giving a shrill whistle that stung the air. To the far left was a woman, also dressed in a full-body cloak, but it was most likely that it was coincidence. She was giving a steady, slow clap with her delicate hands.

The woman stopped clapping, and slowly stepped forward, bringing herself before Lettuce. Only her mouth being visible, she smirked. "Congratulations, Lettuce, completing yet another task I can't," she said, emotionless, pulling off her hood, revealing long, gorgeous, wavy blue hair, and two cold, icey, sapphire eyes..

Silence, the church was full of it. Everyone dropped silent. Only Zakuro recognized her, and hesitated to speak at first.

"Leave," she commanded strictly, "Go home, Mint. Now."

Mint responded with a glare. "Home!" she let out a hysterical laugh, "What is home, Zakuro? Hmm? I'd really like to know, and I'm sure a idol like yourself can give me the perfect answer, _onee-sama_."

Onee-sama. Zakuro narrowed her eyes, Keiichiro swore she was growling, but his attention was diverted at the tug on his pants, near his knee. He looked down into dark blue eyes, Nasubi's, full of question, with a glistening hint of fear that broke his heart.

Nasubi scrunched her brow from worry. "Daddy," she whispered, not sure if she should ask or not, "Who is she? Why is she acting like this? Do you know her?"

Of course. Nasubi, nor Isuzu had ever seen or met Mint. The only thing they knew were the stories told before going to bed. So Keiichiro decided to do the one thing that seemed proper for an odd time like this: make an introduction.

Keiichiro lifted Nasubi up into his arm. "Now Nasu-chan," he said warmly, yet Zakuro sensed nervousness in his tone. _'What is he up to now?'_ "I want to introduce you to Mint Aizawa, otherwise known a Mew Mint. Mint, this is my daughter, Nasubi,"

Mint stared, blankly, unsure of how to respond. _'His daughter, his blood…Zakuro's blood…'_ It hurt Mint to think about it, yet so, she couldn't push the thought of it away. Nasubi, on the other hand, her eyes lit up. The final Mew, the legendary one that she had never met. Her father had made her a big deal, since she was merged with a bird the Ultramarine Lorikeet.

Nasubi jumped down from her father's arms, running up to Mint, no longer afraid of her, excited, actually.

Very appropriately, she put her hand out, grinning. "You're so lucky. Can you _really_ fly?"

Isuzu ran forward to her friend, "Nasubi, don't!" she warned her, scared of what may occur. Mint was about to start enjoying the adoration, too, maybe tease her parents some. She bent down so her head was level with Nasubi's. She chuckled lightly, "Did you want to see?" she asked kindly, putting out a hand for her, "I can take you up with me."

Zakuro almost looked shocked. "Nasubi, don't," she stated, softly the first time. When she didn't respond, she was stricter. "Nasubi, come over here by me and your father." She still wasn't listening. That, or she was ignoring her. Nasubi just stood, unsure of what she was doing now. She really wanted to trust this woman, even if her mom and Isuzu said not to, but she didn't want to disobey her parents. She didn't understand what was wrong here.

Mint's eyes flickered from success. She had this girl baffled. "Mew Mint! Metamorpha-sis!" Blue light engulfed the room. You can tell that everyone was speechless and clueless, especially Pai and Lettuce. (You would be, too, if Mew Mint just transformed at your wedding).

Mint put out her hand, smiling warmly still. "Care to join me?" she asked, even though she knew what the girl's response would be. As Nasubi's hand fell atop hers, Mint pulled the girl around into a tight embrace. Everyone looked scared, except for Keiichiro. _'Just don't hurt her…'_

Up, up, and up. The two were up in the air, Nasubi tightly held to Mint's front. Nasubi's face was a cross between pure wonder and happiness. _She was flying_. She was above the world, or at least, above those in the church. She was happy and amazed. _She was flying._ "Do you like this?" Mint whispered slyly into the girl's ear, brushing away a strand of deep brown hair with her nose. Nasubi couldn't get words to come out of her mouth, so she simply nodded, slowly. _She was flying_.

Mint lowered herself, but not by much, closer to the ground, and snickered. Nasubi's smile fell slightly. "She enjoys this. And Ryou," she nodded toward the blonde, "I'll be seeing you on the full moon." And with that, she flew out the doors of the steeple, Nasubi still in her arms.

Zakuro's face portrayed horror. The horror of her life being ripped out. She dashed forward, "NASUBI!" she screamed, bolting out the door after them. They were out of sight, no where to be seen. Panting heavily, she fell to her knees, not to far afterward finding a hand on her shoulder. _'Keiichiro…'_ she looked up at him. No emotion in his face, what so ever. "Aren't you the least bit worried!" she asked, part way through a sob, disgusted at him. He continued with no answer. "Well!" His grip on her shoulder tightened.

Keiichiro closed his eyes, his face going downward to the ground, still no readable emotions or thoughts. After a period of silence between the two, he spoke up, quite softly, "Nasubi will be okay. Mint will bring her no harm."

Zakuro stood up. "You don't know that! We haven't spoken to Mint in the past ten years! How can you assume she'll be alright! What if she…she…she…"

Just then, someone tapped both of their shoulders, the two spinning around in response. That man from before, dressed in a cloak that fully covered his features, was standing before them. No, they looked at his feet, he wasn't standing…he was floating! Looking back up at his head, the man brought a hand to his hood, pulling it off, revealing dark emerald hair and wicked yellow eyes.

"Nasubi will be alright," Kish said.

-------------------

Haha! Everyone's in the story now! Yes, it took me forever to bring Kish in, non? So in case you haven't figured it out, this is for sure a Kish x Mint fan fiction.

I can't say much on Nasubi and Ryou's part as of now, but I'll say this much: no more main character deaths. Masaya was the only one, I promise.

So review! I'm not too worried about flames, but if I do get any, I'm having a camp-out with my friends, so we'll roast marshmallows.


	8. Understanding

I'm thinking that it's the fault of the computer I'm on, but the line blockers still aren't working, so yes, more ---.

As for my story about Keiichiro, it's title will be _Panacea_, so look out for it. (Wow, Panacea sounds like Pandemic!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Nasubi and Isuzu.

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This is not how Pai and Lettuce planned their wedding day to be. In fact, no one saw this coming. Or at least, everyone…but Kish.

Kish tossed off his cloak. He was wearing his traditional clothes that he originally came to earth in. His usual, perky, mischievous smile was gone. He had lost all sense of happiness during the past ten years, and he really didn't sought to get it back anytime soon, so he decided to bug these guys to pass is time.

Isuzu ran out of the church out to where the three were standing, at first to chase after Nasubi and Mint. She gasped as soon as she saw Kish. "You have ears like Uncle Pai and Taruto!" she exclaimed, pointing at him. She paused, thinking, "Who are you?"

Kish bent over so his head was level with Isuzu's. "I'm no one," he whispered dryly, eyeballing her oddly as he said it. Isuzu gave him a quizzical look. "Don't be silly," she said, putting hands on her hips, "that's not a name."

Kish smiled at this girl's innocence. _'She's too young to understand any of my problems.'_ "You're right. That's not a name. But my name isn't important. At least, not now," he stated matter-of-factly. Isuzu nodded as if she understood.

"Ya know what?" he asked her, putting a hand out to her, "you seem really nice. I bet you really care for your friend, Nasubi, right?" Kish was playing mind games now.

Nasubi. How could Isuzu forget? Her best friend, and she had just been kid-napped by the Lustrous Lorikeet! What kind of friend was she? But then again, when Isuzu tried to divert Nasubi's attention away from Mint, she ignored her. She continued on with the mysterious mew. And now she was gone.

Isuzu sniffled. "I'm a terrible friend…" she whined softly, bringing a hand to her face, to wipe the small tears forming at her eyes, "I should've done something to help her…"

Everyone was standing outside now, and they all heard Isuzu's last comments. Isuzu felt two, warm hands on her shoulders. She turned her head to look into her mother's chocolate brown eyes, "Now now, Isuzu, this isn't your fault."

"Whatever," she scoffed, jerking away from Ichigo's hold. "My fault or not, I want to help her," she looked up at Keiichiro and Zakuro, "I want to help. I _have_ to help."

Pai narrowed his eyes, focusing on Kish. He knew that he had to up to something, to have the gut to show up after ten long years of solitude. And as time had gone by, they had all become one big family, excluding Mint and Kish. They were all Pai's family, or so he considered them to be, and he would be out to look out for them. And now he had Lettuce for his own family and support.

Ryou watched silently as his daughter argued and protested. She was just like him when he was that age, only now, he had wished he was more like her when he was young. If Ryou had friends then, would he be standing up for them like this?

Kish licked his lips. He could do something with his life, and though he wasn't sure if this choice was good or bad, not that it mattered, but he was sure that he was about to do it. He pushed his hand forward again, motioning for Isuzu to place hers in his. "Isuzu, come with me. We'll get your friend Nasubi, and maybe get some sense into Mint, too."

Isuzu's eyes lit up. She heard her parents calling to her from behind, but she ignored. Or she couldn't hear them. Her mind was set on Kish and Nasubi. He said that he could help her get Nasubi back, and right now, that's what Isuzu wanted. Before she took Kish's hand, she turned around to her parents. "I'm going to help Nasubi," she said sternly.

Kish put a hand on Isuzu's shoulder. "And I'm going to help Mint," he told the others. "I've been watching her. You all thought I left, didn't you? And of course none of you cared. You all thought Mint was an evil person, didn't you? Do you think she likes the way life is treating her?" he turned Isuzu around, and lifted her into his arms, "Before we go, promise me one thing: You won't turn out like your parents."

Isuzu turned her head to Ryou and Ichigo. Ichigo's face was between confusion and sorrow. Ryou had a look of understanding. He nodded in agreement, mouthing the words 'Go with him.'

Tears fell from the young girl's face before she choked out, "I promise," her face cleared up a bit at her next thought, "Before we go, what's your name?"

The two started to become transparent to the others' view. "I'm Kish."

--

Flying. Nasubi was in Mint's arms, up in the air above Tokyo, and they were flying. Avoiding people, of course, because not many people would handle it well if they saw Mew Mint carrying a small girl across the city. The two eventually made it to a house, or rather, the Aizawa mansion. Mint lowered Nasubi to the ground, and de-transformed.

"This way," Mint told her, leading her to the front doors of the manor. Nasubi looked around. Huge! The place was huge! Mint noted her astonishment, and giggled in amusement, something she hadn't done since Mickey left her. "I'll show you my room," she said, taking her up a set of stairs and down a hallway.

Nasubi wandered around the giant bedroom. Everything was either fluffy or frilly, and the colors were made up of soft pinks and blues. But something didn't seem quite right. She glanced around the room again. She was sure of it, something was definitely not right here…

Nasubi didn't know how she was supposed to address Mint, "Miss, do you live here all by yourself?" she asked carefully, hoping she didn't offend her. The last thing she wanted to do was upset someone who could kill her with a kiss.

Mint opened up a drawer to a dresser, pulling out a pile of pictures. "Please, call me Mint. I don't deserve respect, you know," she informed her, "Anyway, I want you to take a look at these photos. Your mother will be in some of them."

Nasubi took the pile of pictures from Mint. It was quite the pile of memories. The top picture was of Mint and Ichigo. Mint giggled. "Ichigo, Isuzu's mother, and I were really good friends," Mint told her, narrating and commenting on all of the pictures as Nasubi passed through them all.

The last picture. The final picture, suiting the situation at hand, of Mint and Zakuro. Even though it was of the two about ten years ago, Nasubi was still able to recognize her mother in the old photo. "That's…my mom…" she fumbled her words, trying to remember why she came with Mint in the first place. Nasubi looked over at Mint. She still hadn't said anything about the picture. Was there anything to say? What kind of relationship did Mint have with her mother Zakuro?

"Okay then!" Mint exclaimed softy, grasping the pictures together, figuring they were done with that, "we've gone through all my wonderful memories of when I used to love life!"

------------------------

sigh Mint used to love life, can't you tell? She used to get everything her way, everything went the way she wanted it to! But alas, not quite so much anymore.

Reviews are oh so very loved! So Sammi's signing out!


	9. Feared Met Fearful

Okay, I've finally decided on my own original idea for line blockers, so don't steal it!

Guess what? Here we go, this is the final chapter of Pandemic, ending with nine chapters. I was hoping to go longer, but I decided that I really like this ending for this story, so I hope you enjoy it, too! Yes, I know some people like warnings before the story ends, but as you all probably know, I'm very unorganized when it comes to writing fics. It takes away my creativity! LoL...

Great thanks to everyone who reviewed! (After all, it was your choice on the pairing XD) You are all very loved here!

Kody: I don't love them…

Sammi: Yeah well this is my story and I love them!

Kody: You spend too much time here!

Sammi: You don't spend enough time here! Ug, get me a disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Isuzu and Nasubi.

**ichigomintlettucepuddingzakuromasayaryoukeiichirokishpaitart**

Isuzu just stared at the large building Kish took her to. She'd never seen it before. In fact, she'd never been to this side of Tokyo before, so she would've never had a chance to see it in the first place. But if this was the home of one of her mother's friends from long ago…it seemed odd that it was unfamiliar. She spun around to face Kish. "Are we going in there?"

Kish looked straight ahead right over Isuzu. "We don't have to go through the door, if you don't want to. I can just teleport ourselves in, if you want." He was thinking about something, Isuzu could tell, but what he was thinking about was beyond her.

"Telaport?" Isuzu asked. Of course, how they had gotten to the mansion in the first place. But he could take them _inside_, as well? Though the trip before had made her feel a bit on the queasy side. "Let's just walk in, okay?" she told him, though to Kish it sounded more like an order. Isuzu started to walk forward, but not without grabbing Kish's hand first, startling him. She wasn't scared of him. In fact, she _trusted_ him. But then again, she was just a little girl, not to mention the daughter of a Mew. Still…

The two were standing in from of the Aizawa manor, about to open the door. Kish's hand went for the knob, when he felt a tight squeeze on his other hand. Isuzu looked up at him. "I want to open the door," she said, reaching for the knob, turning it, and pushing the door open. Yet at the same time, the other door was opening. Friend met friend. Nasubi was opening up the other door from the inside, Mint behind her.

And as friend met friend, foe met foe. Or rather, feared met fearful. Nasubi and Isuzu hit each other with a tight embrace, heavens, they were close friends. But as far as it got for Mint and Kish, their eyes were locked. Neither of them moved. Finally, Kish spoke, "Isuzu, you've found Nasubi, can you get home from here?"

Nasubi answered for her, "I flew with Aunt Minto, I can go!" she exclaimed. She looked back at Mint. "Aunt Minto, it was fun flying with you. I wish I met you before. You should come visit me, Mommy, and Daddy sometime!"

_Come visit…sure, that is, if I hadn't tried to kill your father on the full moon…though it'd be nice to just come see you, Nasubi. Kindness overpowers fear._

Isuzu's turn, "Uncle Kisshu, you're a very kind person, er," Isuzu stammered, "…alien? Oh, and Uncle Pai really misses you, so come say hi sometime, okay?"

_Come say hi…sure, that is, if I wasn't on your mother's death list…though it'd be nice to just come see you, Isuzu. Kindness beats fear._

Waving, the two content friends ran off, shouting "Bye!" and "See you soon!"

Which left Mint and Kish alone. At first, Mint was about to turn and leave, but she felt a clasp over her wrist. She turned to find Kish, looking at her longingly. Mint scoffed, "Alright, Kish, what do you want?" she asked, uninterested. _If he's here to bother me, fine, but he won't last long…_

Kish's face turned to sorrow. "I want to end your pain, birdie," he said without emotion, very unlike Kish. At first Mint wasn't sure of what to think of his statement, was he here to kill her? Not that it would work,

Mint chuckled, "Kish, your dagger won't work. Nothing will. Trust me, I've tried to kill myself how many times, and I can assure you, I'm invincible, so-" she was cut off by Kish's fingertip. "I know, birdie, I've been watching you," he said matter-of-factly, as if she was already supposed to know about it. But she didn't, and she shook her head at his actions.

"Kish, quit being foolish," she scolded him, grabbing his chin, "I guess that means you've had nothing better to do throughout the years other than ridicule me? Watch me from afar? Can't get much lower than that," she ranted. Mint started to pull something out from a pocket on her skirt. Kish saw a flash of blue in front of his face, and his eyes eventually settled to see a blue feather. The traditional blue feather.

"You're not going to kiss me," Kish said, giving a slight laugh first.

Mint cocked an eyebrow, "Oh really?" she asked, leaning in for the fate twister, but she was cut off yet again by a finger. "Really," Kish informed her, "Because I'm kissing you," he corrected. Kish took the feather from Mint's trembling hand, and brought his mouth to her open, surprised one, closing it at first. It started with a soft peck, but Kish, being Kish, wanted more. After all, he hadn't kissed anyone in ten years!

Kish took his arms around Mint's middle pulling her in, dropping the feather, it slowly drifting to the floor. Mint's face was between confused and satisfied. "Baka," she sighed, bringing her arms up around his neck, "You do know you're going to die a painful death now, don't you?" she asked him in a mocking tone.

"Do you think I care?" Kish asked back, leaning in for another soft peck, "Besides, you needed some encouragement," he said tauntingly, murmuring the words with his lips up against Mint's cheek, her face infuriating with pink.

"Encouragement?" Mint cried, quickly pushing Kish away at the chest, "All you're doing is breaking me! Breaking the pieces that were already broken, Kish!" tears were coming to her eyes, "All you're doing is rubbing in the fact that I'll never fall in love!"

"Fall…in…love?" Kish repeated, the words acting as a crash point for his brain. It wasn't like he could just pick up the first Mary Sue that he laid eyes on, either. "You think life is a bowl of peaches for me, too?" he objected. "At least this will end my misery! Do you think I wanted to stay here on Earth? I'd be back on my home planet if I could, you know!"

His home planet, Mint had forgotten all about that. Something must had come up that he hadn't gone back. "Kish," she whispered, crying now from all the stress of yelling at her former enemy, "why didn't you go home?" She didn't know anything about anyone from the time of fighting as a Mew, even though she was the only one who could still transform.

"It's…" Kish looked away, dreading bringing up the topic, "gone. No more. Destroyed. It was in worse shape than Earth was. Instead of fighting for Earth, we should've been fighting for our own planet, so that was our own mistake," he ended. He, Pai, and Tart were the only ones of their own kind left, or that they knew of.

Mint was about to comment back on how sorry she was, but why should she? She'd be happy if the world was taken away from her, and…wait. Mint gave Kish a funny look. He was still alive. She'd kissed him, so why wasn't he at the floor, choking on his own blood, at the mercy of her hated blue feather? "You're…" she stated blankly, unsure of how to react, "you're still alive?" Mint remembered back to the last person she kissed…the mail-carrier. He died instantly, hadn't he? And before that, it was the traditional full moon…Tart! Tart was still alive! He was the best man at Pai and Lettuce's wedding!

"I," Kish fumbled for words. He was sort of hoping for this to happen, but he wasn't totally sure of what he was going to do if he was still alive. He wanted to support the lost girl, even if he was a lost boy, "I'm here because of you, Mint," he said surprised. _Okay, let's get out what should've been done ten years ago…_ "I'm here for you, Mint. I'm _alive_ for you Mint. And maybe that's why you're still alive, too. Maybe…" _Geez, what am I trying to say? But where are these words coming from?_

Mint tried to take a step forward, to get closer to the alien, but her body wasn't cooperating. "Maybe…" she said, trying to get herself to finish for him, she really wanted too, "maybe we shouldn't have been pushing fate away for the past ten years. Maybe…" _Fate? Oh great, is he playing mind games with me? Or…or is this…_

Mint's mind was blurred. The impossible was happening, right now. The impossible, the unbelievable, the _destined_. But she didn't know how to react to it, resulting in equivalent tears to blur her eyes as well. She probably would've fallen over if it weren't for two arms holding her tight around her middle. Kish brought his arms higher, around her back, to give the deadly girl more support. He removed one hand, taking it to her face, using his thumb to wipe tears away. _Yup, this is where I have to be, not just for myself, but for Mint…forever…_

Kish used his free hand to lift Mint's devastated face to look up at his. "Are you upset?" he asked softly, "I can go, if you want," but he was cut off by Mint's lips giving him a soft peck. "No," she murmured, not taking her lips away from his, "You have to stay," she brought a hand up to his shoulder, holding him tight, "You **must** stay." And she let go of his shoulder, taking her arm around behind his neck, her other arm doing the same, drawing him in closer. Her mouth immediately asked for entry, and Kish sweetly replied with an open gap between his lips. The two held each other ever-tightly, savoring the moment, even if this was destined for them.

Kish was the first to break away, even though it was after awhile. Mint responded with a slightly upset look, but before she could protest, Kish put his words in. "My Mint," he said, "there are no more worries, for I do believe that the long feared Pandemic is over, and Tokyo has no more need for fear, but what does my Mint think?"

Mint giggled slightly, massaging the back of his neck, eventually running her hands up through his hair, "The Pandemic is over."

--

The next full moon…

The Shirogane, Akasaka, and Midorikawa households were probably the only homes in all of Tokyo that were at rest that night. Sure, Ryou and Ichigo were wary, but Isuzu convinced her parents that everything would be okay. As for Nasubi, things didn't go over so well with her mother. Years went by, and no one had ever heard from Kish and Mint again. Well, almost, but you can imagine Isuzu and Nasubi wouldn't sit for that.

--

So on the news…

"For the first night of the full moon in ten years, the Lustrous Lorikeet hasn't attacked. Authorities are confirming this information as we broadcast, but whether this is the end to a feared Pandemic is still a question to be answered. Over the past ten years, the Lustrous Lorikeet has taken the lives of over 135 males all across Tokyo. Her identity is still unknown, but it's a theory that she belonged to the family of Aizawa. Is this the end to the legendary carrier of the bird flu, or is she planning a mass attack? Researchers suggest…"

**ichigomintlettucepuddingzakuromasayaryoukeiichirokishpaitart**

This was a very satisfying story to write. YAY! I really hoped you guys liked it! I DID! Wow, I can't believe this is over. But I'm glad I finished it before school started…which reminds me, school for me starts in only six days! I'm going to be a freshman! –cries in a corner- -sighs- Oh well, I'll escape here on fanfiction, right?

So did you like this chapter? Hate it? I know I don't need to ask, but I will anyway: Please review! I don't care if you haven't before, or if this story was posted however long ago, it still makes me feel good! YAY! Can you tell I'm really hyper right now? It's the excitement of finishing my third mystery…so now on to the fourth…heehee!

Sammi's signing out!


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